Welcoming Our New Partners of The CorkSport Shop Program!

What is CorkSport Up to?!

We know you’ve been seeing the social media posts calling for US Performance Installation Shops to contact us. So, as a customer, you have likely been reaching out to your local shop and telling them to call in or head to our link in order to get more info!

First off: A big THANK YOU to those who recommended their favorite shops, and to those Shops who have understood what we are about and got started in an awesome community partnership with CorkSport!

We’re excited to experience the support that has been passed along to the community, as well as to other small businesses through these partnerships.

We’re continuing to work with the Mazda Community to build, expand, and grow the number of enthusiasts out there. In doing this, the partnerships we are building will help the ‘newest generation’ of Mazda enthusiasts to get started somewhere. With the help of a local shop, they can learn what they need to know, have a trusted place to take their car, and find themselves inspired by the work they do.

CorkSport’s Community Partnerships will allow for Mazda Enthusiasts to have a place to go for installation help, questions, concerns, and inspiration on what their car is capable of.

If you know of a Performance Installation Shop near you, or are one yourself; get in contact with CorkSport to see what we’re capable of accomplishing together!

Shout out to the following companies for being the earliest adopters of CorkSport’s Shop Program!

You’ll see below some of these Performance Shops are run by well-known Mazda enthusiasts, which is why we’ve chosen them as trusted community partners!

This is not an exhaustive list of our partners. We are building that list and you will soon be able to see which Shops we are partnered with on our website. This resource will provide you with a quick guide to where to go for installation help in the future!

We are looking forward to what we can build together in our expanded CorkSport family!

CorkSport Community Partnerships: building the Mazda Community, one enthusiast at a time.

Cheers,

Kim Russell,

Corksport Performance

September 12, 2017February 21, 2018

RX-9 Rotary Engine Puzzle: Confirmed?

Mazda hasn’t done anything to squash the rotary engine rumors flying around the possible new RX-9. In fact, as of a few days ago, an executive from Mazda confirmed in more or less words: Yes we are working on it, and it is moving along to a more advanced stage.

Let’s review what we have seen so far.

Hybrid Drive Train Patent dated September 2016

Mazda basically penned out a drivetrain setup for the next generation of Rotary vehicle. There was also a rotary specific i-stop type patent entered as well. The only problem is we have seen something contrary to this in the next topic which makes this puzzle interesting.

Rotary Turbo Patent dated August 2015

This patent got everyone (including myself) really excited. Top exhaust ports, a turbo mounted to the top, rear wheel drive, and it is screaming for a huge upgraded turbo to be sticking out of the hood….

One can dream right? I digress with that path but looking at this patent Mazda was working on a different variant of the engine and thought it was important enough to file a patent on it. It should be noted once again this patent was from 2014.

Dorr Support Structure January 2017

The last patent popped up recently and it suggests a lower slung sports car as it moves the door up at a 15% angle and uses a torsion rod to hold it open. The only use a car would have for this is if it is low and you don’t want to hit your doors on curbs when you open them.

Looking back further we can see other patents from Mazda which point towards the continued research of the next rotary with laser ignition, different configurations of the engine, the 16x, etc.

Recently at the Mazda tech forum in Germany, Mitsuo Hitomi from Mazda confirmed that the development is in the advanced stage.

It looks like Mazda is willing to say they are still working on it, but not willing to say, “Yes you will have an Rx-whatever on this specific date.”

Adding to the fire, several Japanese magazines have been saying the Tokyo Auto Show will have the next car at it as well.

With more and more pieces to the puzzle being revealed, perhaps this will be the year we get to see the next RX. My money is on the strategy that it will be teased much like the RX-Evolve and the RX-Vision were, and we will get a real car and one heck of a surprise at the Tokyo Auto Show.

A guy can dream right?!

-Derrick

August 12, 2016September 13, 2018

Could It Be True A New Diesel Mazda Is on the Way?

It has been a while since I touched on the subject of Mazda giving diesel a shot again in the United States. Back in 2012, it looked promising that we would be getting the Skyactiv diesel-powered vehicles like the rest of the planet. After working on the calibrations to meet the U.S. emission standards, Mazda discovered they could meet the emissions, but could not hit the power levels to give owners the driving experience Mazda is known for. Mazda wanted to hit the targets without the addition of urea injection to clean up emissions. They were squarely behind the diesels, even racing the Mazda 6 diesel in IMSA, 25 hours of Thunder Hill, and in prototypes. In the end, the diesels were abandoned, but the message was still there: Diesel models will be sold in North America, it just became a when.

Continue reading “Could It Be True A New Diesel Mazda Is on the Way?”

October 28, 2015

The New RX Unveiled

Let’s talk rotary!!! It’s no big surprise to any Mazda enthusiast, or car enthusiast for that matter, that Mazda released the first full concept look at the new Mazda RX. If you’re anything like us at the CorkSport office, you were giddy with joy talking about all the things the car may or may not have. I can say personally I was like a kid on Christmas morning as I saw the silk piece of fabric come rolling off the sleek sexy body line of the new car. I was thrilled. So like any true enthusiast, I want to share my thoughts on what I think we will and will not see when it comes to a production model a few years down the road.

Let me first start by making it clear that none of what I’m about to say is confirmed. It’s my personal opinion on the car and what I think we will see in a true production model. SO here we go.

The first things to go will be the wheels and tires along with the side view mirrors. I’d say right now, with much confidence, that none of that will show up on a production model for various DOT regulation purposes. On that note, I think the A-pillar will move forward a lot and the roof line will be raised. I just don’t think that nice low profile will actually hit the streets. I think it’ll be a much more person-friendly entry for the average guy (or gal). Next, I don’t think the turn signals will stay unless they either get larger or are very bright. Once again, I base this off the fact that in order for this car to be legal to sell in the U.S., it will have to pass all DOT and NHTSA standards and they have quite a few in regards to glass, lights, crash test ratings, and much more.

Now for what I think we will see. We were all pretty much told that it will get a rotary engine but no details about the engine itself were released. On that note, I think we can say with confidence it’ll be a rotary engine under the SKYACTIV nameplate. It will have to be much cleaner and more fuel efficient than the outgoing Renesis engine to meet current EPA standards. I personally think it will be a naturally aspirated 3 rotor. I come to this conclusion because it will need the third rotor to make power — that really long hood profile tells me they need the room for something. Also, I think it will rev out real nice, as they all do, and be mated to a nice 6 speed manual of some sort.

Like I said, this is all educated guesses of what I think will happen, but there’re still tons of maybes and what ifs out there. I think we’ll see the car around late 2018 or early 2019, with a price tag in the mid 50k range. Regardless, I think Mazda will deliver a great car that will live up to its legend and I’ll definitely want to drive it.

If you build it, they will come.

Cheers,

Vincent

February 2, 2015December 18, 2017

Mazda said WHAT about the Rotary in 2017? Also, the 2016 MX-5

With more and more information circulating about the new Rotary and MX-5 Miata, we’ve compiled everything you need to know about these two beauties.

Rotary 2017

Mazda has been pretty tight-lipped about the next Rotary. In fact, just a few months ago, we heard a few sources claim that the Rotary wasn’t in development at all, or at least was no longer being focused on. Well, hope has been renewed! This news is thrilling, and it honestly lines up perfectly with what we published back in August: What Mazda Said That Will Have You Saying, “Take My Money!”

So what’s the excitement? Well, according to an article posted here, Mazda Kiyoshi Fijiwara (Managing Executive Officer) recently was referenced stating that they should be coming out with a new Rotary in 2017 at the Tokyo Motor show. Mazda is pretty big into anniversaries, and this just reaffirms our hunch they’ll use the 50-year anniversary of their first commercially available Rotary to release a new one. They did it with the 25th anniversary of the Miata MX-5, so why not the Rotary?

This is exciting news, and the best part is, they say it should have close to 300hp!

In case you can’t read Japanese, see the (slightly modified) Google Translation below:

Kiyoshi Fujiwara, the Mazda Managing Executive Officer, at the event in Spain was saying that the company is thought to publish a new car equipped with a rotary engine at the Tokyo Motor Show in 2017.

2017: It’s a memorable year. The world’s first commercially-available car equipped with a rotary engine “Cosmo Sports” appeared 50 years earlier. The name of the new car is unknown. As specs become realities, it is clear the “RX-7” engine should come near the order of 300hp.

2016 MX-5 Miata Only Gets 155hp

In other news, the engine is officially confirmed at 155hp and 148 ft/lbs of torque for the next generation MX-5. Though this might seem underwhelming, we still have high hopes. The three reasons for these hope are as follows:

Reason 1:

2015 Miata: 2,619 lbs, divided by 167 hp = 15.68 lbs per Horsepower

2016 Miata: 2,200 (estimated) lbs, divided by 155hp = 14.19 lbs per Horsepower

It’s only an estimate, but the next Gen MX-5 would have to weigh over 2,400 lbs in order to have a worse power-to-weight ratio than the current model.

Reason 2:

Mazda knows more than ever that everyone wants a faster and higher horsepower car. This knowledge, and the fact that they don’t currently produce, and have not announced, plans to introduce a single Mazdaspeed variant of any of their cars, gives us hope. You might think that makes no sense, but consider it: Doesn’t all their silence about the next Mazdaspeed seem strange? How can a company that has the most vehicles racing in the World on any given weekend NOT have a Mazdaspeed? Secrets.

Mazda has been parading around their Super20 Miata since 2012—a roughly 250 horsepower supercharged Miata that’s received incredible press and reviews. Of course, it isn’t available for public sale. So why does Mazda continue to tease us? Why produce these totally reachable cars that people want without actually producing them for sale? It could just be for publicity, but our bet is also that Mazda has secretly been working on the next Mazdaspeed, and it will be an Mx-5. If we’re right…. we would guess everyone will receive a good confirmation of the next Mazdaspeed MX-5 soon.

Reason 3:

The MX-5 is the pinnacle of Mazdas to modify. More people are modifying their Miata/MX-5 than probably all other Mazdas combined. What does this mean? Turbos, Intakes, Exhausts, Suspension, Bodykits, Lighting: There are so many mods!! Mazda knows people love to modify their cars. If they don’t do it themselves, they know their customers will, which is why we have a feeling that with a few small tweaks, we’ll have this next MX-5 purring and putting out an extra 20-40 horsepower in no time.

Check out The Jalopnik article on the Miata and it’s 155HP: HERE.